A time-consuming component of IMRT optimization is the dose computation required in each iteration for the evaluation of the objective function. Accurate superposition/convolution (SC) and Monte Carlo (MC) dose calculations are currently considered too time-consuming for iterative IMRT dose calculation. Thus, fast, but less accurate algorithms such as pencil beam (PB) algorithms are typically u...

BACKGROUND Lead is a highly toxic and pervasive metal. Chronic exposure to low levels is responsible for significant health effects, particularly in children. Prevention remains the best option for reducing childhood lead exposure, however the knowledge, attitudes and practices to lead exposure in many developing countries is not known. METHODS We conducted four focus group discussions (FGD) ...

The high density and atomic number of hip prostheses for patients undergoing pelvic radiotherapy challenge our ability to accurately calculate dose. A new clinical dose calculation algorithm, Monte Carlo, will allow accurate calculation of the radiation transport both within and beyond hip prostheses. The aim of this research was to investigate, for both phantom and patient geometries, the capa...

The electronic portal imaging device (EPID) has the potential to be used for in vivo dosimetry during radiation therapy as an additional dose delivery check. In this study we have extended a method developed by A. Piermattei and colleagues in 2006 that made use of EPID transit images (acquired during treatment) to calculate dose in the isocenter point. The extension allows calculation of two-di...

In external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), skin dose measurement is important to evaluate dose coverage of superficial target volumes. Treatment planning systems (TPSs) are often inaccurate in this region of the patient, so in vivo measurements are necessary for skin surface dose estimation. In this work, superficial dose distributions were measured using radiochromic translucent poly(vinyl alc...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to determine the dosimetric effect of on-line position correction for bladder tumor irradiation and to find methods to predict and handle this effect. METHODS For 25 patients with unifocal bladder cancer intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with 5 beams was planned. The requirement for each plan was that 99% of the target volume received 95% of the ...

Background: The heterogeneous composition of the human body presents numerous tissue types and cavities with widely differing radiologic properties. The aim of the present work was to develop a low cost homogeneous and heterogeneous phantom and the absorbed dose were measured by ionization chamber for different radiotherapy treatment techniques and compared with treatment planning syst...

background: the heterogeneous composition of the human body presents numerous tissue types and cavities with widely differing radiologic properties. the aim of the present work was to develop a low cost homogeneous and heterogeneous phantom and the absorbed dose were measured by ionization chamber for different radiotherapy treatment techniques and compared with treatment planning system absorb...